I’d like to share a trick I’ve been using lately, which helps funnel excitement into gratitude and circumvent “the rev” we get when we have a dopamine-dominant brain.

Addictive brains, almost by definition, are dopamine-dominant. This means that of all the neurotransmitters, they are driven most by dopamine, which is the neurotransmitter of more. The part of the brain that gets hooked on wanting and craving is dopaminergic. And when your brain gets carried away with dopamine signaling, you may notice that other traits and experiences go along with it.

Dopamine: The Neurotransmitter of MORE

One of them is the rev. This isn’t a scientific term; it’s my term for moments where there is a lot of excitement, lots of ideas, and you’re pinging all over the place: “Oh, let’s do this!” and “Oh, it would be amazing to…” and “Then we can….” And you go on and on.

This can be great. Many wonderful ideas come from this state. But sometimes it leads to other things, too, like not sleeping at night, or saying things that you wish you hadn’t said. You may get stuck in the ideation phase and not be able to follow through with your great ideas.

So there are downsides to the rev. Some of us have this to the point where it’s not mentally healthy. It can morph into hypomania or full-fledged mania, which is the beginning of a bipolar cycle. And even if it’s not that extreme, it can still have an impact, because what comes up must come down. That’s how the brain works. It always tries to maintain equilibrium, and if you’re too revvy for too long, it’s going to work to bring you down.

So there are benefits to knowing how to get out of a revved state.

The challenge is that the rev feels good. You’re on top of the world, with amazing ideas, and you’re seeing things so clearly. But this solution I want to offer you also feels great. Plus, it’s sustainable, unlike a dopamine rev. You never have to come down. You can learn to exist in a state of near-bliss.

Dopamine vs. Serotonin

Here’s the trick: funnel the rev into gratitude. And here’s the difference: the rev is dopamine. Dopamine is the molecule of the future. It’s never satisfied. So your great ideas never end, but never become concrete, either.

Serotonin, on the other hand, is the molecule of gratitude, right here, right now. It can’t see the future. It’s satisfied in the present. Gratitude is an expression of contentment and satisfaction. You don’t have to chase an idea; you can be grateful to be someone who has ideas. Grateful to be a person with resources who can bring ideas to fruition. Grateful for getting a good night’s sleep, or for the roof over your head and the Bright meal you’re about to have.

Turning Energy into Gratitude—and Gratitude into Joy

The serotonin that comes with this gratitude brings you back down and gives you a quiet joy, so you can allow the ideas you have to be manifested and made real. That gratitude lowers the rev and increases the quiet joy, which I like to call outrageous joy. That’s the state of bliss. You funnel the rev into gratitude.

In the here and now, you can implement your ideas. Because dopamine has two main pathways: desire dopamine is the chase for what’s not here right now. Control dopamine is the planning for what could be made real. If you pair gratitude with a bit of planning—using dopamine but in a different way—you have a winning combination for productivity and outrageous joy.

Let me warn you: when you’re in a revved state, you may not want to move to gratitude. But forcing yourself to take pen to paper to write a gratitude list, and then moving to implementation, is the formula for a life of outrageous joy.

So if you have a dopamine-dominant brain, I see you, I feel you, I love you. I’ve been experiencing the rev myself and using this trick. It truly works.